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by dv_says 3892 days ago
Not a fan of screen overlay tooltips as in [1]. My first instinct as a user is to get them out of my way, and I do that every time, feeling guilty. And adding a "next" button and going through tooltips one-by-one doesn't make this any better, just more annoying.

Actual games (such as GTA or Cut the Rope) do a great job with onboarding, and apps tend to take the simpler show-everything-in-the-beginning way.

Two alternatives I've tried as an indie dev:

- Gamification, where you ask the user to perform one task, such as "drag X to Y." Only after they performed the action move on to the next prompt, and perhaps not even immediately.

- Utilizing badge counts or "bouncing" animations to indicate some action that needs to be performed. The benefit is that the user can try it on their own time, and you're not rushing them. The downside, though, is that some users may never actually click.

On the flip side, these approaches can add complexity in both code and how you structure your UI.

[1] http://s3.amazonaws.com/marquee-test-akiaisur2rgicbmpehea/R9...
1 comments
nostrademons 3892 days ago
I like the tooltips better than either of the approaches you've suggested. If I'm confused, I glance at them and then am less confused. If I'm not confused, I just dismiss them, not feeling guilty.

I hate "help" mechanisms that keep popping up in normal operation, because usually I know exactly what I'm doing in normal operation.

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dv_says 3892 days ago
You're on point, these help mechanisms should be rare and few, or they would be a nuisance as well.

The problem with forced screen of tooltips in the very beginning is that you haven't had a chance to explore the app yet, and so it's hard to mentally assign importance to them. And later, they're gone.

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wlesieutre 3892 days ago
This is my issue with them. Maybe I do need a tooltip to figure some feature out. But I certainly don't know which one I need yet.

If you bombard me with "Hit the + button to make a new document!" on first launch, of course I'm going to dismiss the tips. It's 2015. Figured that one out on my own.

Better to design an app where functions aren't hidden in secret menus and I can explore without accidentally screwing things up. Is that too much to ask?

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nostrademons 3892 days ago
Offer a "Help" action that brings them back for whatever screen you're currently on.
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